Civil citations bill

The state attorney, the sheriff, and the school superintendent went before city council Tuesday night. They voiced their opinions of a resolution that calls for more use of civil citations .. which are an alternative to arrests and rap sheets for teens charged with minor crimes.

AND RUN JUST AS SOON AS WE GET IT. NOW, THREE POWERHOUSE WITNESSES PRESSING THEIR OWN POINTS OF VIEW IN THE CITY'S DEBATE OVER HANDLING YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM. STATE'S ATTORNEY, SHERIFF AND SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT ALL WENT BEFORE CITY COUNCIL TONIGHT. THEY VOICED THEIR OPINIONS ON A RESOLUTION THAT CALLS FOR MORE USE OF CIVIL CITATIONS WHICH ARE ALTERNATIVE TO RAP SHEETS FOR TEENS. COUNCIL MEMBERS WERE EXPECTED TO VOTE ON THE RESOLUTION TONIGHT. NOW, THEY HAVE DECIDED TO PUT THAT ON HOLD. CHANNEL 4 SCOTT JOHNSON LISTENED TO SOME CONFLICTING ARGUMENTS ON THE SUBJECT. HE IS JOINING US NOW LIVE FROM CITY HALL TO TELL US WHAT BOTH SIDES ARE SAYING. SCOTT. WELL, TOM, HERE'S THE ISSUE. I WANT TO SHOW YOU IN THIS GRAPHIC. COMPARING JACKSONVILLE, DUVAL COUNTY TO THE MIAMI AREA. MIAMI WRITES A WHOLE LOT MORE CIVIL CITATIONS, AROUND A RATE OF 86 PERCENT WE HAVE COMPILED. COMPARE THAT TO DUVAL COUNTY, DOWN AT 31%. SO OBVIOUSLY WE'RE REALLY LOW. THAT'S WHY TONIGHT STATE'S ATTORNEY ANGELA COREY CAME HERE TO CITY HALL TO TELL THE CITY COUNCIL WHY, SAYING THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE DOES TO KEEP KIDS OUT OF JAIL THAT PEOPLE JUST DON'T KNOW ABOUT. IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT CIVIL CITATIONS. TONIGHT, A LOT OF MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL CAME OUT AND SAID, WE DIDN'T KNOW THIS. WE THOUGHT IT WAS ALL CIVIL CITATIONS OR NOTHING. SO THAT'S WHY THEY DECIDED TO DELAY THE VOTE. . CHANNEL 4 NEWS CLIPS SET OFF A DEBATE ON CIVIL CITATIONS AND WHETHER THEY ARE USED ENOUGH IN JACKSONVILLE. ANGELA COREY AND NIKOLAI VITTI CAME TO CITY COUNCIL TONIGHT WITH DIFFERENT OPINIONS ON CIVIL CITATIONS. WE ARE ARRESTING TOO MANY KIDS, INSTEAD THOSE KIDS SHOULD BE GIVEN CIVIL CITATIONS. IT WORKS, COST EFFECTIVE. STOP ARRESTING KIDS, LET'S GET TO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM, FIND OUT WHY THEY ARE MAKING MISTAKES. FOLKS, FOLKS. FIRST WE WANT TO TELL YOU HOW THE COMPLEX PROCESS WORKS. THE FIRST POINT IS, POLICE ISSUE CIVIL CITATIONS, NOT THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. SO FOR INSTANCE IF POLICE RESPOND TO A FIGHT THEY DETERMINE WHETHER TO ARREST SOMEONE OR GIVE THEM A CIVIL CITATION. THEN IF THEY ARE ARRESTED AND NOT GIVEN A CIVIL CITATION, THEN IT GOES TO THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND THEY DETERMINE WHETHER TO PROSECUTE. IF THEY ARE GIVEN A CIVIL CITATION, THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE NEVER INVESTIGATES IT. THE ISSUE FOR SUPERINTENDENT NIKOLAI VITTI IS, IF A STUDENT IS INVOLVED IN A FIGHT OR HITS SOMEONE, ANYTHING THAT IS CONSIDERED A MISDEMEANOR BATTERY, THEY CAN'T BE GIVEN A CIVIL CITATION. IN JACKSONVILLE, THEY HAVE TO BE INVESTIGATED. I'VE SEEN GOOD KIDS MAKE BAD DECISIONS AND GET CAUGHT UP IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND THEIR WHOLE LIVES ARE RUINED. AS CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES A RESOLUTION TO ASK FOR AN INCREASE IN CIVIL CITATIONS, I ASKED ANGELA COREY WHY DOES DUVAL COUNTY HAVE SUCH A LOW CIVIL CITATION RATE COMPARED TO OTHER COUNTIES? SHE SAYS THE MAIN REASON IS MANY OF THESE COUNTIES IN FLORIDA DON'T HAVE DIVERSION PROGRAMS THAT KEEP KIDS OUT OF JAIL, AND THAT NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW ABOUT THESE BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE ONLY FOCUSING ON CIVIL CITATIONS. AS I HAVE STATED OVER AND OVER AGAIN, WE CAN STILL DIVERT A BATTERY CASE WITHOUT AN ARREST. WE DO IT QUITE OFTEN. CITY COUNCILMAN WARREN JONES QUESTIONED WHETHER CIVIL CITATION WAS A SIMPLER PROCESS. THE PROCESS OF HAVING AN ARREST REMOVED FROM A JUVENILE'S RECORD IS NOT A SIMPLE PROCESS. IT TAKES TIME. IT TAKES MONEY AND A LOT OF THESE KIDS DON'T HAVE THAT. NOW, THE CITY COUNCIL PUSHES BACK THE COMMITTEES, THEY WILL DISCUSS THIS SOME MORE BEFORE THEY DECIDE IF THEY WANT TO PUSH FOR THIS RESOLUTION. STATE'S ATTORNEY ANGELA COREY'S OFFICE WILL BE PRESENT FOR ALL THOSE DISCUSSIONS TO HELP CLARIFY ANYTHING PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND. COREY WANTED TO PUT OUT, WHEN THEY PUT KIDS IN DIVERSION PROGRAMS, IT DOES NOT GO ON THEIR CRIMINAL RECORD. POLICE HAVE ACCESS TO IT BUT FUTURE EMPLOYERS DON'T. THAT'S A BIG ISSUE, TO MAKE SURE THESE KIDS GET JOBS AND NOT FILL OUT ON AN APPLICATION THEY HAVE BEEN CONVICTED OF A CRIME. COREY WANTED PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT DOES NOT GO ON TEENS RECORDS IF THEY GO IN THE DIVERSION PROGRAM. SCOTT JOHNSON, CHANNEL 4 THE LOCAL STATION. SCOTT, SUPERINTENDENT NIKOLAI VITTI HAS WORKED IN OTHER FLOR COUNTIES WHERE MORE CIVIL CITATIONS HAVE USED. DID HE SAY IF THAT APPROACH HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL. HE DID, TOM, HE SAID HE WORKED IN MIAMI. SAID IT WORKED GREAT THERE. HE SAID HE'S WORKED UP IN NEW YORK AND THEY HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROGRAMS THERE. HE SAID IT HAS MET WITH A LOT OF SUCCESS AND HELPED TEENS NOT FALL INTO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM WHERE THEY JUST END UP IN A LOT OF BAD BEHAVIOR THROUGHOUT THEIR LIFE.

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